


Your Instincts Are Not Fine

by syriala



Series: Steter Week 2018 [7]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Fluff and Humor, Getting Together, M/M, Pining, Spiders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-28
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2019-06-17 16:28:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15465450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/syriala/pseuds/syriala
Summary: “There’s a spider,” Stiles pressed out, voice thin with obvious fear, and Peter needed a second to connect that sentence with Stiles’ extreme reaction. It wasn’t what he had expected.“A spider,” he tonelessly repeated and Stiles rapidly nodded, pointing at the floor.





	Your Instincts Are Not Fine

**Author's Note:**

> This is for Steter Week Day 7, Pining.
> 
> I know I said I had nothing more for Steter Week, but I spent two hours driving today (which is even more productive than taking a shower, story idea wise), and there was a motherfucking spider in my car, and this idea has been sitting for a few weeks on my desktop, because Lavender and I talked about this before. I need my very own Peter to take care of these things, okay?

Peter refused to call it lurking. That term was specifically reserved for his nephew. Peter was just looking out for Stiles, who, after all, was human and so very vulnerable, even if the pack liked to forget that. And it was a good thing that Peter was keeping watch on him, because Stiles’ heartbeat went rabbit fast all of a sudden and Peter was sure he had heard a scream as well.

Peter was up the wall and in Stiles’ bedroom a few seconds later, only to find Stiles on his bed, wringing his hands in front of his chest and noticeably shaking.

“What’s happening?” Peter asked, looking out for the threat, but he couldn’t see any intruders.

“There’s a spider,” Stiles pressed out, voice thin with obvious fear, and Peter needed a second to connect that sentence with Stiles’ extreme reaction. It wasn’t what he had expected.

“A spider,” he tonelessly repeated and Stiles rapidly nodded, pointing at the floor.

“Could you maybe do something?” Stiles asked him, and he didn’t even seem surprised that Peter was there in the first place.

“Where is it?” Peter asked, but just as he was speaking he saw the black blob on the floor, just sitting there innocently.

“Do something,” Stiles hissed, and Peter smirked.

“What do I get if I kill the spider?” he asked, keeping an eye on the arachnid, because he didn’t actually want it to flee and scare Stiles further.

“You don’t kill the spider,” Stiles told him, and not a second to late, because Peter was already in the process of stumping on it.

“You want me to catch it?” he asked incredulously, and Stiles nodded again.

“I definitely get something for that,” Peter decided and looked around for something to put over the spider.

“Oh my god, Peter, you can bargain for something later, just catch the damn thing before it vanishes,” Stiles cried out and Peter dumped an empty mug over the spider.

“If I bargain for something later, you can just tell me no,” he said, mostly to annoy Stiles, because he wouldn’t leave the spider there.

Not with how afraid Stiles clearly was.

“You can have anything,” Stiles promised, and Peter frowned.

“That’s a very dangerous offer, Stiles,” he told him, because it was.

There was a lot Peter could ask for, and a lot Stiles probably wasn’t willing to give.

“I don’t care,” Stiles desperately said. “Just please, Peter, please, get rid of it.”

Stiles hadn’t looked at Peter at all since he entered the room, eyes always fixed on the spider, even though it was now under the mug, and Peter wondered just how afraid Stiles really was of them.

“It’s okay, I have it,” Peter promised him, trying to sooth him, and went to search for a piece of paper he could slide under the mug. “Don’t worry.”

He found something on Stiles’ desk, and took care of the spider quickly, throwing it out the window he came through.

“There, it’s gone,” Peter said and showed Stiles the empty mug to prove that it was really gone, because Stiles was still too pale and his heart was still beating way too fast.

“Thank you,” Stiles breathed. “Thank you,” he repeated with emphasis when Peter simply shrugged.

“It’s no problem,” Peter gave back, suddenly uncomfortable in face of Stiles’ sincere gratitude.

Stiles climbed down from the bed, still keeping an eye on the window as if he expected the spider to crawl back in, but he sat down in his chair and Peter counted it as a win.

“So, what do you want for rescuing me?” Stiles asked, and nothing in his scent or behaviour indicated that he was dreading what Peter would answer.

There was no trace of apprehension and Peter silently cursed. He had wanted to ask for a kiss; it was the perfect opportunity after all. If Stiles laughed in his face or seemed disgusted, Peter could pretend it was all just a joke and ask for something else. But now, faced with Stiles honest gratitude, Peter couldn’t quite bring himself to do it.

Stiles had genuinely been afraid of the spider and it felt wrong to ask something of Stiles now.

“I’ll think of something,” Peter promised him, and his heart lurched in his chest when Stiles smiled at him. Peter was just glad Stiles couldn’t hear his heartbeat.

“I’m sure you will,” Stiles nodded and then frowned. “What were you even doing here?” he asked then and Peter shrugged.

“I was just passing by,” he said, unwilling to tell Stiles that he had been watching the house, looking out for him. He was pretty sure Stiles wouldn’t take it well.

“Thank god for that,” Stiles told him with a twinkle in his eye that told Peter he wasn’t quite buying his story, but he also didn’t press further, so Peter let it rest.

“I should be on my way,” Peter eventually said when the silence stretched between them. “That is, as long as you don’t have another spider you need me to take care of.”

“Not right now,” Stiles gave back with a small, self-deprecating smile. “Thank you for not making fun of me,” he added lowly.

“I would never,” Peter promised, and it was true. He would make fun of all kinds of things, but never about something Stiles was genuinely scared of.

“Thanks,” Stiles said again. “Let me know when you thought of something you want,” he told Peter and turned around to his desk.

Peter could think about a lot of things he wanted, especially from Stiles, but he didn’t voice any of his thoughts. He would find a moment to tell Stiles that he was helplessly gone on him, but now wasn’t the time.

“Call me when you need to be rescued again,” Peter told him right before he jumped out of the window and going by the pleased note to Stiles’ scent he knew it for the honest offer it was.

~*~*~

Peter still wasn’t lurking, really, he was not. It was just, ever since that incident with the spider he kept an even closer eye on Stiles, wondering how often a spider crawled into his room and scared him half to death. The Stilinski’s were living rather closely to the woods after all.

There hadn’t been an incident since that first time, but Peter couldn’t quite bring himself to abandon his post. He could still clearly remember the look of relief and gratitude on Stiles’ face and maybe he wanted to see it again.

Peter was only half paying attention to Stiles right now; he was long attuned to his heartbeat and that was really all he needed. Stiles was calm, probably working on something and Peter payed more attention to his book than to the house.

When he heard Stiles’ heartrate drop even further, he smiled to himself. He could clearly picture Stiles falling asleep at his desk, drooling on the papers he had probably all over the place. It was a nice picture, but it was destroyed when Stiles suddenly spoke up.

“Peter, I know you’re there. I need you to get your ass in here right now, someone just broke in,” Stiles whispered, just loud enough that Peter could still pick it up with his enhanced hearing and Peter was dashing towards the house instantly, fear licking up his spine at the thought of Stiles getting hurt.

When he climbed into the room, Stiles was backed up towards the window, bat in his hands, and tense all over.

“Something broke downstairs, but no one tried to climb up the stairs yet,” Stiles whispered, and Peter nodded, motioning for Stiles to stay behind him.

Peter silently left the room, walking out into the hallway and focusing his hearing. There was Stiles’ calm heartbeat and one more heartbeat downstairs. It seemed like the person was rummaging around in the kitchen and Peter crept down the stairs, careful not to make a noise.

When he rounded the corner and could look into the kitchen, Peter huffed. The ‘intruder’ was the Sheriff himself, sweeping up the shards of a glass he had apparently broken.

“Sheriff,” Peter said and was delighted at the way the Sheriff jumped.

“Fucking Christ, Hale, what are you doing in my house?” John asked once he had calmed down and Peter shrugged.

“Stiles thought someone was breaking in,” he gave back and then called out for Stiles. “It’s just your dad!”

Stiles trampled down the stairs, bat still in his hands and came to a stop in the doorway, glaring at his dad.

“You’re not supposed to be home,” he said accusingly. “You scared me half to death.”

“Jordan sent me home,” John replied, though he did seem apologetic. “I’m sorry, kiddo. I didn’t even think.”

“It’s fine,” Stiles huffed and eyed Peter from the side. “I have my very own guard dog, after all.”

“I resent that,” Peter indignantly gave back, but he couldn’t deny that he enjoyed the way Stiles laughed at that.

“If you make lunch, make enough for three,” Stiles told his dad before he dragged Peter back up the stairs.

“We really need to talk about your fear response and your survival instinct,” Peter said once they were back in Stiles’ room.

“What? Why? My instincts are fine” Stiles told him as he put his bat away.

“They are not,” Peter said decisively. “I thought you fell asleep just now, your heartbeat was slowing down so much, but when there was a spider in your room, it ratcheted up with fear, nearly sending you into a panic attack.”

“Because it was a motherfucking spider!” Stiles almost yelled and Peter rolled his eyes.

“Stiles, you thought someone was breaking in. That should scare you more than a tiny spider.”

“It wasn’t so tiny,” Stiles told him. “And intruders are fine, they have two legs and you generally know where they are. Spiders have eight legs, Peter, eight, nothing even needs that many legs, six is a perfectly reasonable amount to have, and if you take your eyes off them for even a second they are gone, just puff, and you will never find them again, but you will always wait for them to show up again at all times. It’s scary.”

Peter wanted to be angry with Stiles, he really did, but he was just too cute, rambling like that, and Peter couldn’t help the small smile that broke out on his face.

“What are you smiling at?” Stiles asked him, suspiciously narrowing his eyes at Peter.

“Nothing,” Peter was quick to give back, and then frowned. “How did you even know I was close enough to hear you?”

“Oh, please,” Stiles scoffed, but it wasn’t mean. “As if I didn’t know that you are watching me all day long.”

“I’m not,” Peter protested but Stiles silenced him with a look.

“Don’t even pretend. I’m not complaining, not after you saved me twice, but next time you can just come in and keep me company instead of just watching me.”

Hope bloomed up in Peter’s chest at that unconditional offer and he decided to just take a leap of faith now.

“I thought of something for saving you from the spider the other day,” he said, and Stiles stepped closer to him, smiling slightly.

“Oh yeah? What is it?” he wanted to know, and he smelled so deliciously of want that Peter was sure he wouldn’t be rejected.

“I’ll take a kiss for spider saving duties,” Peter told him and Stiles’ smile was almost blinding.

“Took you long enough,” he whispered and leaned in to kiss Peter.

“You know,” Stiles whispered against Peter’s lips when he put a bit of distance between them, “you don’t have to wait for another spider to kiss me.”

“Good to know,” Peter whispered back and reeled Stiles back in.

It was an offer he wouldn’t let go to waste. Peter still got a kiss whenever he saved Stiles form another spider, though. It was a system that worked for both of them.


End file.
